Vacuum-cleaner.



G. BACKER.

' VACUUM CLEANER.

.APPLICATION FILED PBB.19.1910.

969,441.v Patented sept.6,1910.

lcitizen of the United cleaning animals,

GEORGE BACKER', 0F SYRACUSE, NEW YORK.

VACUUM-CLEANER.

Speciication of Letters Patent.

Patented Sept. 6, 191i).

Application filed February 19, 1910.. Serial No. 544,771.

To all whom 'it may concern:

Be it known that 1,' GEORGE BACKER, a States, residing at Syracuse, inthe county of Onondaga and State of New York, have invented certain newand useful Improvements in Vacuum- Cleaners, of which the following is aspecification.

This invention relates to improvements in brushes, designed for use incleaning, scrubbing and scouring, and the invention relates particularlyto a power driven brush for such as horses, cattle and the like.

The object of the invention is to provide a brush for cleaning purposes,arranged to be driven directly by a motor of any suitable make, thebrush preferably inclosed in a casing or shell in close proximity to themotor and easily portable.

A further obJect is to provide a brush of the class arranged for use inconnection with a vacuum producing device, whereby all dust or dirtloosened and picked up or gathered by the brush when passed over asurface or body may be readily drawn away from the brush and dischargedat a distant point.

A further object of the invention is to provide means for preserving thesuction or vacuum at the point of contact between the brush and thearticle to be cleaned. And a further object is to provide means forregulating-increasing or diminishing, the force or degree of the vacuum,and also the speed of the brush.

Other features and parts of the invention will be understood from thedetail description which follows and by reference to the accompanyingdrawing forming a part of this specification, and in which- Figure 1 `isa side elevation of the complete device with motor attached. Fig. 2 is acentral longitudinal section through the casing and brush showing theconstruction and arrangement of the parts. Fig. 3 is a verticalcross-section on line 33 of Fig. 1. Fig. 4 is a similar view taken online 4-4 of Fig. 1. Fig. 5. is an end elevation.

Similar characters of reference are assigned to corresponding partsthroughout the several views.

The object of the present invention is to provide a light and compactpower cleaning device, of the pneumatic type, particularly adapted forcleaning horses and other animals, to take the place of the common currycomb and brush, ywherein a rotary brush is employed for loosening anddetaching dandrutf and dirt, the latter being removed by suctionproduced by a vacuum device preferably located at a distance from theobjectto be cleaned.-

In the drawing, 2 represents the elongated shaft-like body ofv thebrush, which is shown bored out for a greater part of its length, as at3, and having one open end, as l, the other end being solid and closed,as at 5.

6 represents the bristles of the brush, which may be' secured tothe'body or shaft 2 by any suitable means. The bristles are preferablyarranged to radiate from the shaft., in a manner to form af cylindricalbrush, as shown in Figs. 2, 3 and 4.

7 represents a series of perforations arranged in the shaft andconnecting with the hollow interior. These perforations are intended forvents for the inlet of air for the purpose of keeping the bristles cleanwhile the brush is in use, as Well as' for reducing the vacuum whennecessary for any. purpose.

8 represents cylindrical hollow casing yor hood for inclosing the brush,which is preferably made of light material, such as sheet metal, havingopen ends and an elongated slot or opening 9 in the bottom. The opening9 extends to within a short distance of each 4of the ends, and theportions of the bottom adjacent the ends ofthe opening 9 are preferablyflattened as indicated by the line9 in Fig. 5. 10 represents a flangedcap for closing one end of the casing, the flange being threaded forsecuring the cap to the threaded portion 11 of the casing. The flan e ofthis cap extends the full distance of t e curved portion of the capcorresponding to the like arrangement of the cylinder tion of the capzontal edge colnciding with the flat portion 9 of the casing. The cap 10is perforated near its center, as at 12, and provided with an inwardlyprojecting sleeve 1,3, which serves as a bearing for the outer end ofshaft 2, the latter having an annular flange or shoulder 14 whichengages the sleeve to pre# vent endwise movement of the shaft. 15represents a similar cap which is tted to the opposite open end ofthehood 8 by threads in the same manner as cap 10.

8, the 'lower porbeing formed with a horiof a clutch 22 which 16represents an electric motor casing w ich is connected to the cap 15 byscrews or bolts 17. In practice the motor casing may be applied to thecap before the latter.

1s attached to the hood.

The cap 15 is perforated centrally, as at 18, to permit of connectingthe brush shaft 2 with the driving mechanism operated by the motor (notshown) within the casing 16.

he motor employed for operating my brush may be of any suitableconstruction or make, and may be mounted in its casing in the usualmanner. The brush is by a drive-mechanism consisting of a shaft 19 whichis mounted in a bearing 20 arranged in the inner end wall 21 of themotor casing 16. The connection between the shaft 2 and the shaft 19being effected by means may follow any of the well-known clutchconstructions. Upon the shaft 19 is mounted rigidly a spur-gear 23,which is arranged to mesh with a pinion 24 carried b the motor shaft 25by which the brush is riven, the shaft 25 having its bearing in the wall21 of the motor caslng. The

'motor is supplied with electric current by The recess or slot 27 abovementioned forms an exhaust passage in the casing 8 and extendingpractically the entire length of the brush. urt-hermore, this passage27, which virtually constitutes a dirt outlet, is

ceiving edge where the bristles of the brush engage. The dirt outletpassage thus ca'rries off the dirt, dandrufi1 or foreign matter removedby the machine so that such material does not come into contact with anyof the interior working parts of the machine which is disadvantageousbecause the latter would in time become clogged by the dirt and theoperation of the vdevice seriously interfered with.

At a point near the middle of the hood a sleeve or tubular part 29connects with the socket 27, to the outer end of which is connected apipe or and connect with a suitable vacuum or suction device preferablyvlocated at a distance from the brush. The pipe 30 should be ieXible soas to permit of the free manipulation of the brush during the cleaningoperation. The pipe 30 is employed for carrying away the fine particlesof dandrutf or operated,

hose 30 which may lead to @easel dirt loosened up or gathered by thebrush` and which may be `discharged in any suitable manner.

In order to afford a the brush-hood '8 and to be cleaned, skirted allaround by a flexible rubber apron or part 31, which is made fast to thelower edges of the hood, as by rivets or screws 32. The apron, at thepoint where it joins the hood, should be secured to the latter in amanner to afford as nearly as possible an air tight joint, so as toprevent loss of vacuum at this point. The rubber apron 31 is providedwith an opening 33 in lts bottom coinciding with the opening 9 of thehood.

The construction and arrangement of my cleaning device is such that theuser thereof may readily apply and operate the same with but one hand,with about the same i facility as he now operates other forms ofhand-brushes. In manipulating the brush for cleaning purposes theoperatorgrips the hood with one hand, as illustrated in Fig. 3, and indoing so he passes his lingers beneath 9 a strap 34, which is secured tothe top of the hood by means of lugs 35. In order to enable the operatorto grip and properly handle the device, the hood is preferably providedwith oppositely arranged out- 9i wardly facing ribs 36 and 37. Inapplying the device to a surface or a body to be cleaned, the operatorshould press the brush against the object with suiiicient force to crushthe rubber apron 31 in t-he manner 10 shown in Fig. 3. By this operationthe depending edges of the apron are all brought to a firm bearing uponthe surface of the point, and thus permit to withdraw all loose dust anddirt from the surface of the object directly beneath the brush, as wellas from theinterior of the hood. vWhen the device is held in the posi-11C tion shownin Fig. 3, the ends of the bristles as they travel acrossthe opening 9 are brought into contact with the surface to be cleaned,and thereby loosen and displace the particles of dirt. The brush beingconstantly driven by the motor at a high speed, in the directionindicated by the 'arrows in Figs. 3 and 4, the bristles after actingupon the surface, as 39, successively impinge against the opposite edgeof the hood adjacent the mouth of the socket or recess 27 Thisfrictional contact with the hood serves to remove the e particles ofdirt which may cling to the bristles. The rapid movement of the bristlesacross the openings 9 125 object, loosening up all removable dirt orscales, and the travel of the brush being toward the mouth of recess 27,tends to carry the dirt in that direction, where it is instantly suckedor drawn into the said recess and thence into pipe 30 by the vacuumdraft. In case the openings in the shaft supply too much air and therebydestroy the vaclum required for withdrawing the dirt from the casing,the end of shaft 2 may be closed by a plug, as or by any other vsuitablemeans to prevent air from entering the brush inclosure through theshaft.

The brush having the motor directly attached, :is shown and described,maybe kept constantly connected-up electrically by means of the wires26, and a suitable switch or cut-out (not shown) may be employed forcontrolling the current. In this manner the device may always bereadyfor immediate use. In connecting up the motor with the conductors,the wires should be arranged so that the brush may be carried about aVroom without requiring alteration or change of the wiring. The sameprovision should be made in connection with the pi 'e or hose 30. Thisart should be of suita le length and iexibi ity to permit of the freehandling of the brush while employed for cleaning. Under such anarrangement the o rator may clean a horse, or other object, an move thebrush freely in every direction while engaged in the cleaningoperations, without i l being required to give attention to the electricor vacuum connections.

It is obvious that a solid shaft may be employed instead of the hollowshaft with the plug 40, in all cases where a stronger vacuum isnecessary to perform the work roperly, and that other changes andmodicat-ions may be made within the scope defined by the appendedclaims, and I therefore do not wish to restrict myself to the preciseconstruction and arrangement as herein shownand described.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is-

1. In a vacuum cleaning device, the combination of a cylindrical casing,a brush rotatably mounted therein, means for operating said brush,the'lower ortion of the casing being formed with an e onoated openingthrough which the bristles 0I the brush pro`ect, a side of the casing atone edge of sai opening being formed with a longitudinal recessextending the entire length of the brush and forming an exhaust passage,

means fof` connecting said exhaust passage with a suction device, theinner side of the exhaust passage being deiected inwardly toward thebrush so as to engage the end portions of the bristles of the latterduring rotation, whereby dirt and foreign matteris cleaned'from thebrush and exhausted from the casing direct through the exhaust passageaforesaid. '7

2. In a cleaning device, the combination of a casing comprising a hollowbody provided with an opening at its lower portion, end caps detachablyapplied to the ends of the body, a hollow brush shaft detachably mountedin said end caps and having its bristles arranged to operate adjacentAto the opening aforesaid, a clutch supporting one end of the brush shafton one end cap, theother endcap having a bearing to receive the otherend ofthe brush shaft, and a motor detachabl .mounted on the end caphaving the clutc the brush shaft having perforations communicating-withthe interior of the casing, and one end ofl said shaft heing open,

3. In a cleaning device, the combination of a casing comprising a hollowbody provided with an opening at its end ca s detachably applied totheends of the bo y, a hollow brush shaft detachably mounted in said endcaps and having its bristles arranged to operate atl-.jacent totheopenin aforesaid, asclutch supporting one end ofthe brush shaft on oneend cap, the other end cap having a bearing to receive the other end ofthe brush shaft, and a motor detachably mounted on the endcap having theclutch, the brush shaft having perforations communicating with the`interior of the casing, and one end of said shaft bcing open, a plug forclosing the open end of the brush shaft, the casing being formed at oneside of the opening in its lower portion with spaced parts formln anexhaust passage, and one wall of which is arranged in the ath ofmovement of the ends of the bristl es, and an apron surrounding' theopening at the lower portion of the casing and secured to the casing andto the outer wall of the recess above mentioned.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

GEORGE BACKER. Witnesses:

HOWARD V. RULIsoN, HARRY DE WALLACE.

lower portion,-

